We caught up with the brilliant and insightful India Hearne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

India, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

I have wonderful parents who have supported my creative side and everything I do from day one. My mom and dad owned their own business when I was growing up, so I was able to learn first-hand what it takes to run a business. They have always gone into everything they do with 110% and with their heads held high. I witnessed the highs and lows of running a business at a very young age and basically grew up under the front desk of their gift shop, so owning a shop/running a business is kind of all I know how to do! I will never forget the day I called them from art school during my Sophomore year and told them that I was ready to move back home and tackle Whiski Designs head on and full time. They didn’t skip a beat and said that they would be by my side. 10 years later I am proud to say that we all 3 work together every single day to keep Whiski Designs running smoothly. They are my biggest supporters and I am so incredibly lucky to have them as my parents. I love them with all my heart and cannot imagine being on this journey with out them!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is India Hearne and I am the owner and designer of Whiski Designs based in Dallas, Texas. I am a tried and true Texan born and raised in the heart of Dallas. I have always had a very creative side…I was that kid in school who would doodle along the sides of my notebook instead of taking notes, haha! I knew from a very young age that I wanted to own my own business and create for a living. In 2014 at the age of 18 when I was a senior in high school, I decided to establish my company, Whiski Designs, and start building it. I wasn’t exactly sure what direction I wanted to go with Whiski Designs at the time, but I knew I wanted to showcase my hand drawn designs in some form. When Instagram came out, I started posting pictures of my designs- not necessarily to show them to anyone, but more so I could have a digital portfolio for myself. A cowgirl clothing company came across my artwork and contacted me to design some shirts for their new line of graphic tees. My hand drawn designs on t shirts?! Wow! I was so excited for the opportunity! We worked together and came out with some designs- they really took off! I continued working with them for a few years while also designing for my own brand and coming out with new designs and products. When I was a Sophomore at art school, I came to the conclusion that I was going to move back to Texas and work on building Whiski Designs full time. My family and I started doing pop up markets all around Dallas and Texas. In 2018 we became full time vendors at the Dallas Farmers Market on the weekends, and in 2019 I opened my very own storefront open 7 days a week. Since then I have been able to grow my business and offer even more products than we started with. I have also been able to work on custom projects for weddings, fellow businesses, and so much more. The opportunities my business has had over the last 10 years is truly incredible and I don’t take a single one for granted. What I am most proud about my business is that we are GO TEXAN certified, meaning everything in my line is designed and manufactured in the state of Texas. I love working with fellow Texans on creating new products for my business. When people walk into my shop I want them to feel like they are in Texas. I want them to feel how proud we are and welcome- it’s the Texas way! I am lucky that I get to run my business with my parents everyday. The customers we have met along the way have become family. Owning Whiski Designs is the best job I can ever imagine and every single day I am so incredibly grateful for each and every person that walks through our doors and keeps this dream alive.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Any and everyone who owned a business in 2020 can relate to ‘pivoting’. The pandemic was something no one could prepare for or see coming. Never in my life did I think I would get a notice telling me that I was not able to open my business for an undetermined amount of time. So many thoughts went through my head…when will we be able to reopen? Once we reopen, will people want to be out and about shopping? Is this the end of my business? What will I do next? So many business owners were all suddenly stuck in the same boat. Luckily, I already had my online store up and running, so I pushed and promoted the heck out it while we were shut down. My doors were closed for 7 weeks straight. Instead of sitting at home day after day worrying, I spent the time cleaning and reorganizing my shop and storage area. I went to my shop every single day to fulfill online orders and stay in the groove of everything. I really had to change my mindset and focus on everything one day at a time. During that time I was able to reflect and realize how much I enjoyed chatting with customers and meeting new people every single day. Everyone had to pivot that year (and years after) and do whatever it took to keep everything afloat. I am proud to say that we made it through and that if we can make it through that, we can do just about anything!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I started my social media accounts, I had no idea what I was doing. Social media was a whole new thing for everyone. I decided from day one that I was going to run all of my social media accounts myself- this is my business and I really want people to connect with my story and get a feel for the love that goes into every design and product. Running social media for my business is almost like having a second job…people tell me I should just hire someone to do it for me, but I disagree. I love connecting with people on my instagram and Facebook and meeting them in person. It’s fun, and in world where I feel like connection can get lost, I want to keep that connection real. I have grown my social media following organically- I have never purchased an ad or anything like that. I believe that if people want to follow along, they will. My advice to anyone who is just starting out is to try and post something every single day. Anything to keep your followers engaged!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whiskidesigns.com
• Instagram: @WhiskiDesigns
• Facebook: Whiski Designs

Image Credits
Ashley Andrews, the Dallas Farmers Market (the only photo she took is the one of me! I took the others!)